Social media grew by 17% in 2015. This translates to 176 million more users in just one year. According to Brandwatch, there are 1.65 billion active mobile social accounts today. If these numbers are not exciting enough, then you are in the wrong profession. Every online marketer appreciates the importance of social media for search engine optimization SEO). If your SEO strategy is not leveraging social media, then your company is headed for a tough stretch.

Well, the social media landscape keeps changing and you have to stay up to date. There are new trends already taking shape in 2016 while more are emerging. Which ones can you capitalize on to up your game? Here are a few ideas:

1. Video and More Video

21% of marketers reckon video is the most important form of content marketing according to eMarketer. What’s more, 73% intend to increase their output of visuals. YouTube is still the second best ranking web page. Streaming videos is now big business and with Twitter already in the picture, this is bound to be big business. Periscope and Meerkat are just a start and you can easily show the true side of your business using these tools.

2. Real Time, Big Time

What’s at the core of social media success? Engagement, and this is what customers want. The internet user today wants a personalized form of communication that happens in real-time. If a customer has a concern, the response should be immediate. Faster response time is the way to go and if your company doesn’t embrace this, you should expect more challenges along the way.

3. Mobile and E Commerce

According to Google, mobile search has already surpassed desktop search and this highlights the importance of mobile in online marketing. All social media platforms now have buy buttons which makes it easier to buy. More social media users will go mobile and devices like wearables will feature greatly in ecommerce. If your web content is not optimized for mobile devices, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.

4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

If you are in social media marketing and SEO is not top on your mind, then you better quit. SEO is still king and while social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram guarantee huge traffic, search engines are still after quality content and impressive web design. Purchasing social media traffic is futile as this will eventually be detected leading to penalties. Social content is now more visible on search engines and you should optimize your content for social media.

Analytics will play a crucial role while more social media platforms will embrace commerce to attract more users. It’s time to get social to leverage the huge market potential on these platforms.

Companies need to adapt to the fast development of social media trends and understand how to get benefits from it according to the business objectives. If you have questions on determining what your business needs, don’t hesitate to contact our Island Media Management team as we would be happy to help your business grow!